Electronic diagrams, such as flowcharts and logic state diagrams which are displayed electronically, provide an approach to explaining complex systems. Electronic diagrams are composed of labeled blocks which represent features such as system components or system logic states. Each block in the electronic diagrams has a set of properties or attributes related to the underlying represented component or logic state. The block properties may be graphical properties related to the depiction of blocks, or the properties may be functional properties related to operations of the system. The blocks may be joined by lines representing connections between the system features. The electronic diagrams may be stateless diagrams or state diagrams. A state diagram, such as a representation of a finite state machine, is an example of an event-driven system. In an event-driven system, the system transitions from one state to another provided a condition required for the change from one state to the other is satisfied (i.e.: an event of a specified kind takes place). A state represents the condition of the system at a particular point in time. A stateless diagram depicts the flow of data or operations in a system from one component to another without depicting the state of the system. The depicted system may also be a purely computational system.
Both stateless diagrams and logic state diagrams are often depicted in an electronic format through the use of a computer diagramming application, such as Simulink™ running on MATLAB™, from The MathWorks Inc. of Natick, Mass. The diagramming applications provide displays of electronic diagrams to users of an electronic device. Conventionally, the electronic version of a diagram is stored on an electronic device, such as a computer system, which is interfaced with a display device that presents the electronic diagram to a user. Techniques available in graphical diagramming applications enable multiple diagrams to be presented to a user in a side-by-side display. Unfortunately, there currently exists no easy method of merging differences between two electronic diagrams being displayed to a user.